Where to find Nashville hot chicken in Los Angeles

Hotville Chicken's Kim Prince prepares fried chicken.

Aug. 14, 2023 5 AM PT

“It’s hella hot, but we’re not going to stop frying.”

It’s just after noon on a recent Sunday and Kim Prince is behind the window of the Dulanville food truck. Her forehead is slick with sweat as she takes orders for hot chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese and kale coleslaw.

“Nashville-style” hot chicken restaurants in Los Angeles seem to be as prevalent as Starbucks coffee shops. But Prince, who hails from the Nashville family that invented the dish, remains the only person arguably making real Nashville hot chicken in L.A.

She closed Hotville, her 3-year-old bricks-and-mortar restaurant at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw mall, late last year. Now she’s cooking from a food truck she co-branded Dulanville with partner Greg Dulan of Dulan’s on Crenshaw.

The two make the rounds at various events and breweries around town, but for now (confirmed through Sunday, Aug. 27, with an option to continue), you can find the truck at Smorgasburg, the Sunday market that brings together various food vendors, artisans and vintage sellers at the Row in downtown Los Angeles.

Hot fish and chicken from Dulanville and Thai gelato from Moom Maam at Smorgasburg

Nashville hot fish with sauce in a container lined with checkerboard paper

Smorgasburg is my favorite place to be in Los Angeles on a Sunday. I can indulge in my favorite hot chicken, tacos, vegan sushi and Thai gelato all in one place. Parking is free for two hours.

Dulanville, a vendor at the market since mid-July, boasts a mix of Prince’s chicken and the soul food Dulan’s is known for. The menu rotates, but you can count on some combination of hot tenders, hot fish, BBQ chicken, wings, pulled pork and ribs alongside macaroni and cheese, collard greens and kale slaw.

The hot tenders are first-rate: more meat than breading, juicy, encased in a crunchy fried shell and dialed up to whatever heat level you’re comfortable with.

I’ve been on a bit of a hot fish kick lately, and Prince’s hot fish is as good as it gets. The plump pieces of swai are craggy and crisp, with a light coating that sticks to the fish. They’re fried until the fillets just flake. Prince adds a good lashing of her hot seasoning (if you want it spicy) before releasing your order through the truck window.

Medium heat is my preferred level of punishment. It’s not explosively hot, but the sting of the chiles is present, with a burn that builds quickly and lingers.

To cool down, there’s the ice cream alley, a section of the market just off the entrance where a collection of vendors serves all manner of frozen treats. Moom Maam is a Thai gelato maker I first discovered at the Wat Thai food market in Sun Valley last summer. Owner Darwin Wai is a mad scientist of sorts, always tinkering with his flavors and making gelato out of ingredients like Thai basil, blue corn and balsamic vinegar.

Mango and coconut gelato from Moom Maam at the Wat Thai Temple weekend market.

At Smorgasburg, he has a full lineup of flavors, served in a cup or in one of his waffle bowls. His “special” is a favorite, with two scoops of gelato over clumps of sticky rice in a wavy waffle bowl with toasted grated coconut and caramelized sugar. I like to order mine with both mango and fior di cocco, for a semifrozen version of mango sticky rice. The rice hardens under the gelato and adds a wonderfully chewy texture to the dessert.

The Under Pressure cocktail from Charcoal Sunset

A cocktail in a tall glass sits on a windowsill.

The Last Word is one of the best cocktails in the universe. Equal parts gin, maraschino liqueur, green Chartreuse and fresh lime juice, it’s spirit-forward but balanced, refreshing and easy to sip.

It’s widely believed that a bartender and entertainer named Frank Fogarty served the first iteration of the drink at the Detroit Athletic Club in 1915. Its staying power is a testament to a well-constructed, versatile recipe that lends itself to endless possibilities.

Replace the gin with mezcal to make a Closing Argument. Swap the Chartreuse for vermouth and add Italian red apertivo to create a First Word. At times I’m partial to the Final Ward, made with rye whiskey instead of gin.

At Charcoal Sunset, Josiah Citrin’s new West Hollywood restaurant, bar manager Erick Raymundo makes a version called Under Pressure. Though Raymundo is also responsible for the cocktails at the Charcoal location in Venice as well as Dear John’s steakhouse, the Under Pressure is available only on Sunset Boulevard.

“The Last Word is one of my favorite cocktails,” Raymundo said. “I gave it my touch with a fresh ingredient, since Josiah gets most of the produce from the farmers market.”

To make the Under Pressure, Raymundo adds a handful of fresh arugula to a shaker. Then he pours in some Botanist 22 gin, green Chartreuse, St. Germain and simple syrup. He muddles the greens at the bottom and then adds fresh lime juice. He gives the mixture a shake, then double strains the drink into a tall glass over ice and tops it off with a splash of soda water.

The grassy bitterness of the arugula registers immediately, giving the drink green-juice vibes that almost feel healthful. Then the gin creeps in, warming, sharp and botanical, followed by a wave of fresh citrus.

It’s the kind of drink that makes me think I could, and should, attempt something similar at home. I flirt with the idea of concocting my own version with Thai basil instead of arugula. But then I’d need to go to the market. My laundry is piling up. The email icon at the bottom right corner of my phone shows a total of 45,798 unread emails.

I’ll probably just pop by the bar for an Under Pressure instead. Feel free to grab the stool next to me.

Where to eat and drink now

Dulanville, multiple locations, hotvillechicken.com
Moom Maam, multiple locations, moommaamfood.com
Smorgasburg, 777 S. Alameda St., Los Angeles, la.smorgasburg.com
Charcoal Sunset, 9000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (424) 288-4671, charcoalsunset.com